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Thursday, January 27, 2005

Single-Panel Reviews 01/27/05

I apologize for the lack of posting this week. Life's been crazy and my partner-in-queenliness is out of town. We'll be back up to full strength next week, though! Thanks for understanding.

WE 3 #3 (of 3)Vertigo $2.95
Writer: Grant Morrison; Artist: Frank Quitely; Colorist: Jamie Grant
WE 3 is the story of three animals physically altered and trained to be weapons by the government. Bandit, Tinker, and Pirate, a dog, cat, and rabbit respectively, are set to be “decommissioned.” That’s when their trainer decides to break them out. They are programmed to only kill when threatened, and on the run, they are continually at risk and continually kill. In this last issue, an advanced model of animal weaponry, WE 4, is let loose to kill the three fugitives. Although these animals have been mutilated and sacrificed in the name of military science by humans, ultimately, it’s humans who make this tale not end as badly for WE 3 as I had expected. Also interesting is the fact that the animals’ final caretaker is just about as disenfranchised in society as the animals. This comic is not for the faint of heart – it is extremely gruesome and gory, with ample violence toward both animals and people. I found it strange that the violence to the animals in this series hit me a little more strongly than the violence to people. It must be all these damned comics desensitizing me! The most impressive part of the series to me were the amazing art and color. Frank Quitely and Jamie Grant make the book a strong one.
Bottom line: B+

Jane’s World #17
Girl Twirl Comics $5.95
By Paige Braddock
Lots going on in Jane’s World this issue. We get some more backstory on both Jane and Chelle and even more on Jill and Chelle’s past. Dixie and Ethan meet the inevitable end of their relationship; and Café Squeeze has its grand re-opening party, which, like many parties, provides numerous funny and awkward moments. There’s also an incident involving Dorothy and a little too much to drink at the party. As usual, though, poor Jane just can’t seem to get a romantic break. We can always hope she’ll have more luck next issue, though.
Bottom line: B

Furious Fist of the Drunken Monkey #2Imperium $2.99
By Rich Stahnke
As you may remember, I won the first issue of this comic in an ICAA contest. It was amusing and held quite a bit of promise, so I thought I’d pick up issue 2. This issue the “drunken monkey,” Chip, and his sidekick, Al, a toad, are still low on funds. Among other things, Al ends up in the emergency room, and Chip battles “The Exhibitionist,” a maniacal scientist who has invented and implemented the, ahem, “concealable crotch gun.” Yep, you heard me right. This is a pretty funny comic overall, and Stahnke has improved his storytelling from last issue. There are some very funny gags that made me laugh out loud. I consider it my guilty pleasure of the week.
Bottom line: B-

1 Comments:

Thanks for seeking out the second issue and I'm glad to hear it didn't disappoint you. I'm working on issue 3 and there's now a Monkey special available at www.comixpress.com. It contains a couple of early short stories I created before working on issue 1. Thanks again for the support!--Rich Stahnke